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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/21/2020 in all areas

  1. 5 points
    I think it's safe to say, Chris and his dad were popular members of all his teams, such lovely people.
  2. 2 points
    An interesting piece from 1936 Flat track racing fans have a real treat in store.The only man to ever hold 4 major flat track titles is going to race at the San Francisco speedway for the first time tomorrow night. Ray Tauser, one of the most daring flat track riders has sent in his entry blank.....he captured the English star trophy championship, the Australian championship, the French championship and the world's dirt track championship. One young man who is not the least bit frightened over the European star is Lou Casazza. Casazza is a San Francisco Italian, and is the pride of the Italian populace Now I also saw something about Tauser making his first appearance at Emeryville a few months later and was also captain of the Fresno team in the league. But must admit I have never heard of Lou Casazza Mention of Emeryville speedway, which ran meetings from 1933-1936 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Speedway By 1938 it seems Tauser had become the track manager at the Hinchliffe City stadium in Patterson NJ, where Bo Lisman was the main attraction along with Crocky Rawding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinchliffe_Stadium
  3. 2 points
    The dreadful attendances for individual meetings below SGP level in Britain, plus their virtual disappearance from most tracks' fixture lists does rather suggest that they have lost their appeal; far more than team events. There will obviously be those who like individuals but I do sense that they are a very small if highly vocal minority. Regarding splitting the season over two years - do we really want to have two seasons fouled-up? One is bad enough. Even if we only ended up with September and October the option is there to run a six home, six away Premiership and two regionally split Championships, five home and five away, with possibility of play-offs at both levels. That of course is if we can sort out team strengths to cope with rider absences. It is an awful situation but there is no point in throwing the baby out with the bathwater to fulfil a misguided attempt to, after 90 years turn speedway back into an individual sport. There are many things wrong with speedway but team racing is far from the problem. Let's just wait and see, and have various permutations ready so we can react to whichever date we are given, if at all, to resume. Just giving up and standing in a corner sneering at those determined that we can hgave some speedway this year in a futile attempt to look and sound clever is no help to the sport, and THAT is realism.
  4. 2 points
    Sadly it`s not all good news. I wish him and his family all the best in the times ahead. I knew Chris well from his Reading days.
  5. 2 points
    Just heard he's been found
  6. 1 point
    I went through my proggies and found the following (apologies for weird format, text editor issues): Ivan Mauger At Hull With Exeter 22 May 1974, No.1, 11-4, 2nd to Beaton Ht 13, won 2nd half. 2 July 1975, No.1, 12-4, won 2nd half. 19 May 1976, No.4, 15-5, won 2nd half. Uproar when in ht 13 following very competitive race with Bobby Beaton who fell, Ivan was not excluded, re-run 3 only, fisticuffs between Ian Thomas & Wally Mawdsley. 24 Aug 1977, No.4, postponed. 28 Sept 1977, No.3, 10+1-4, Ht4 3rd to Mitch Graham & Mike Farrell, won 2nd half. So in addition to No.1 Ivan often rode at nos.3 & 4, not no.5 as I thought but he did ok at Hull....
  7. 1 point
    Three main reasons.. 1. You would be very lucky to run team speedway every week to anything like a consistent fixture list, at least with any semblance of credibility, given how many riders may not be available at any given night due to the many who DU, and also how many will need to ride in their own leagues abroad as a priority.. 2. Individual meetings will give riders more chances per week to ride thus more earning potential, eg two league meetings or the chance to ride seven nights a week if they so wish and were capable.. And 3. When everyone has to start paying bills again, and pay back the bills they were allowed to miss/pay less, during the current crisis, I would think paying out for Speedway four times a month may be very, very low down their priorities..
  8. 1 point
    Sad news indeed, all the best Chris.
  9. 1 point
    OK thanks. Glad he's been found.
  10. 1 point
    He has been found- it`s on the Ipswich 2020 thread. http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/88757-ipswich-2020/&page=128
  11. 1 point
    This is so sad, so pleased he's safe
  12. 1 point
    Big IF I know, but.. IF there is any racing, then it shouldn't be hard to coordinate a decent amount of meetings for clubs and, (possibly more importantly), the riders.. Run individual meetings and each club could run once a fortnight on nights that they feel could deliver their best return.. That would mean plenty of meetings for riders and the meetings would, I would suggest, get more fans than the usual individual meeting crowd levels given the speedway fraternities longing to see some action.. It would also mean the fans, who could be under financial stretch at the time of going back to 'normal', wouldn't be expected to fork out weekly just to get a 'league' completed in just a few months... 22 clubs riding over a 14 day cycle (presuming all come through this), would mean some clashes, but with basic planning you could ensure they are kept geographically apart and I would also suggest that there needn't be any restrictions on levels of riders who can ride where, ie The NL clubs could run with Premiership riders if they saw fit and felt it was an earner for them to do so.. And with a clear 'set in stone' fixture list, with consistent race nights, and riders booked well in advance, (so can be advertised) ,clubs would have a fortnight between meetings to promote their next offering.. The meetings themselves could take on any format, eg a traditional 16 man, 20 heat meeting or something much more innovative which could give some pointers for the future based on customer feedback... The important thing would be giving as many riders the chance to make as much as possible in the short time available. With the added bonus that their equipment will still be 'nearly new' next year so may not need upgrading... It always seems to be widely publicised by many clubs that they lose money each year so maybe this break from paying out those thousands and thousands of pounds that dont get covered by income, may help down the line? For those it applies to, it may also be a good time to renegotiate rental costs with landlords who may be pretty desperate to see their facilities used again and could be more open to discussion, which again can only be a good thing for the sport going forward. (And maybe could help subsidise some lower admission costs upon restart)? Lots of mainly British riders riding the length and breadth of the nation every night of the week, for however many weeks it is possible, can't be a bad thing can it? Maybe even wrap some meetings up in a several round 'British Championship' to add interest? I am sure though that 'behind the scenes' the Promoters are working on a plan...
  13. 1 point
    For a last resort Shocker Grange Drive shops always stock it if you are stuck.Got mine a day late last week because of the Bank Holiday.otherwise it is always there on a Thursday.Three people including me order the Star from that shop never realised we had three speedway supporters in Stratton.!!!!!
  14. 1 point
    Perhaps best to retain your ignorance tbh.........
  15. 1 point
    Then again, look at all those exposed for cheating, or using illegally modified parts, who kept on riding, others who have been guilty of criminal acts including supplying drugs to other riders (I'm not talking about Lee) and our Aussie friends who found further uses for empty Coke bottles (one of whom still rides). I'm not standing up for Jason but Speedway doesn't have a particularly good record in not signing bad people.
  16. 1 point
    But he's not a promoter and it will be the same promoters who have governed the sport for the last few years who will be running it again whenever we start up. The few ' new ones ' messers Jensen ( Rye House ) Morgan ( Workington ) Rathbone ( Peterborough ), Phillips ( Newcastle ) , and Kay ( Redcar ) all of whom had ' new ideas ' didn't hang around long for various reasons and all had issues of some sort with the sports governors , it appeared, and with only one of the young Courtney's left at Berwick and Smith / Lemon at Belle Vue to bring fresh ideas to the table you have got to wonder where the change of direction will come from. We can hope for a miracle but then we are all waiting for another major one to get us out of the current situation and they don't come around that often.
  17. 1 point
    I think it would be a pretty easy sell: ”Hey, fans, the Covid ban has ended and speedway can now run but we can’t fly in the continental stars due to quarantines, so we’re going to try a domestic league with a reduced admission fee. Will you support us or would you rather have no speedway this year?”
  18. 1 point
    He probably failed to arrive and a guest replacement was used.
  19. 1 point
    I would think the most we are likely to get this year is the Supporters Cup and a few Challenges. I don't see the point of splitting the season, and clubs are without key riders this year so it would be unfair on those sides. Just make the most of what we have this year and start again next year with the same 1-7s as much as possible.
  20. 1 point
    I don't see what is gained from splitting the season over two years with a long gap during the winter. Why not simply run a short 2020 season, even if it means riding each team only once at home and once away? Then start afresh with a full season in 2021. As said, there are too many variables over a winter break. What if a rider retires or decides to give Britain a miss? Similar, I assume that if travel restrictions are in place for the remainder of 2020 then the likes of Doyle, Batchelor, Lambert, Fricke etc. won't be eligible to ride in 2021 either? It seems to cause more problems that it solves.
  21. 1 point
    So many messages on Poole Speedway's social media platforms regarding the passing of Gordon Day yesterday. Tributes from promoters, managers, riders, journos, sponsors, mechanics and of course the fans from many clubs from all around the world.. Sadly missed. Rest in Peace Gordy.
  22. 1 point
    These numbers do really suggest the time has to be right for 'one make' standardised engine leagues doesnt it? The generosity of the sponsors is incredible but wouldn't all this sponsorship going to the clubs rather than individual riders help the sport overall in the UK? Seven riders all bringing in an average £70k between them would get a good few standard machines and leave money for spare parts and a mechanic to collectively look after them. And maybe enough to rent a club van to take all machines to the race meets? Riders could then be salaried, with payments reflecting their position in the team, but with the obvious lack of money being needed to pay for their kit which must make up a significant part of their remuneration package now.. All bikes to have their own passport showing photos, serial numbers etc. And any changes needing authorisation from the governing body, all logged, all with visual evidence and all signed off each meeting by the machine examiner that it all tallies with their records.. Similar to the way F1 shoehorns an individual sport into a team framework. With drivers often paying for their ride by bringing in team sponsorship and then they get paid a 'wage' to drive, and any changes to engines etc must get authorisation.. At the moment it does seem to be a race to no where given one rider will buy one top of the range piece of kit, so the others will also buy it to keep up, meaning nobody has actually moved forward, but in fact are all actually back to square one. The only thing therefore moving forwards are the costs collectively across the board, with seemingly no extra punters coming through the door to pay for them.. There must be hundreds of thousands of pounds given to individual riders in the UK by generous backers each year, so maybe it could deliver a better long term return for the sport, and obviously the riders, if it was used more collectively to pay the sports race meet costs and be used for marketing the sport nationally?
  23. 1 point
    My Speedway Promoter game is loaded on an old lap top that I kept with Windows XP on it. Got old Football Manager games loaded on it as well. It has been invaluable during this lock down.
  24. 0 points
    weekly speedway will be way beyond the pocket for a significant number of fans in 2020 and possibly longer. better to not run in 2020 if Clubs are going to lose a fortune and wait for 2021 when they may see bigger crowds because people feel a lot safer
  25. 0 points
    Sad news on the passing of former BanditTom Blackwood. Condolences to Moira and Stuart.
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